Street Calls of the Week
Investing.com -- Susquehanna downgraded Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings to Neutral from Positive, saying a long-awaited rebound in truckload pricing and margins looks unlikely before 2026.
Truckload spot rates have been flat through the third quarter, with tender rejection rates stuck near 5%, showing little sign of the tighter market conditions that typically drive higher prices.
While falling truck orders and fleet attrition point to more balance ahead, the firm expects any pricing recovery to take longer to materialize.
The brokerage cut its 2026 earnings forecast and lowered its price target to $43 on Knight-Swift.
Knight-Swift remains “the best managed, best positioned, and most attractively valued asset-based truckload” operator, analyst said, but a prolonged downcycle continues to weigh on its earnings outlook.
“For the fourth straight year, we’re cutting TL/IM estimates into October as rate and margin improvement remain in the distance,” Susquehanna wrote.
Outside truckload, Susquehanna said Knight-Swift’s less-than-truckload, or the LTL division is outgrowing the industry on revenue and volume and should meet management’s third-quarter margin targets.
Its intermodal and brokerage units are expected to deliver in-line results, while warehousing and leasing will benefit from a solid third quarter before typical year-end weakness.
The brokerage said it remains positive on C.H. Robinson, Hub Group, and GXO Logistics, citing structural opportunities in those businesses, while keeping negative on RXO and neutral on J.B. Hunt, Schneider, Werner, and Landstar.